Category: Featured

There are many football players that have achieved stardom, however, only a few have been able to go beyond that and become legends. Tony Gonzalez is one such legend, one of NFL’s best tight ends and with a career record of 17 seasons (out of whish he only ever missed 2 games), Gonzalez has an incredibly decorated career. He retired from football at the age of 37 and has now become a studio analyst for Fox Sports, today we are going to take a look at how Gonzalez managed to go through this transition and how did he manage to hold up his finances after his career as a sports star came to an end.

Gonzalez’s only interest was never football, he always wanted to find out what was he best at and during his career, he tried his hand at a number of ventures. Gonzalez tried forming a few businesses but soon found out that this was not where his happiness lied, he had a love for being on camera and therefore, he could only find a satisfactory career in the TV business. This is why he chose to become an analyst for Fox Sports, the best part about his current job is that it is right next to his home, which makes life a lot easier for him.

Also, Gonzalez managed to keep his financial side stable by planning ahead of his retirement, he made a plan on how to spend his funds and stays on a tight budget, he also holds a job that ensures a steady stream of money keeps on coming his way. Being a father of four kids has also helped him keep his expenses under check, it has allowed him to mature and helped him become more careful with his money. Gonzalez no longer cares about flashy cars and watches, instead, he finds joy in being with his family and in his work.

Gonzalez also owes his talent with handling money to his step-father, who was a risk averse spender who liked to plan ahead. Gonzalez picked up plenty of lessons from him which have helped him keep his finances strong, Gonzalez also learned about risk capital from a friend which really helped him plan out his finances in the long term as well, and to this day he has continued to follow his risk capital based plan that basically tells him how much money will he need to continue living his current lifestyle for the next 50 years or so.

According to Gonzalez, the best investment that he ever made was with a tech company in San Francisco called FitStar. He acted as a virtual trainer for the company, which was later on bough by FitBit. Gonzalez made a deal with a company that instead of paying him, they were to give him an ownership in the company’s shares. This turned out to be a highly profitable venture that ended up with Gonzalez earning money without having to invest anything of his own.

When Tony Gonzalez headed to Kansas City at the time of the forty seventh annual 101 Awards, he had already spent twelve seasons acting as a chief. He was the thirteenth pick during the NFL draft of 1997 and has now become an inductee in this year’s Chief’s Ring of Honour. According to Tony Gonzalez, who came to Kansas after a pretty long time, the city has a lot more to offer than before, especially in it’s down town area.

However, if you were to compare the city’s change with how Gonzalez has changed over the years, it is pretty obvious that the latter’s change is much more spectacular and worth talking about. Back when Gonzalez was a rookie, he had managed to earn the record of most passes dropped in NFL (17!) and was made fun of by Jason Whitlock. Gonzalez was awarded a D- and tagged as another failure produced by Kansas City, but now, thinking back on it makes him laugh as he attends the 101 Awards Banquet.

Gonzalez claims that the hardships he faced in his early days proved to be pretty good for him, it gave him the motivation needed to test his mettle and focus on his growth. The embarrassment he faced as a rookie made him tell himself that he never wanted to be outdone by anyone and neither did he ever want his fans booing at him, and thus, he began putting extra effort into his practice.

You need to do more than just enough, you need to go the extra mile in order to achieve greatness, and that is what Gonzalez did. He realized this after taking notes from former notable chiefs such as Warren Moon, Marcus Allen, and Tony Richardson, and sure enough, he made a stunning recovery by doubling his total receptions and receiving yards and then in 1999, he officially began his climb up the ladder, making everyone forget about his rather shaky start.

The challenges and tough situations he faced in Kansas City helped him realise the essence of manhood and helped him go from being a rookie to a proper man on the field. However, he had to leave Kansas after 2008, he requested for a trade and was quite doubtful about his decision at the time since he was unsure how his fans and teammates would react. The reason behind this move was that he needed a change of pace, and he found that in Atlanta where he was selected to participate in the playoffs and also got a chance to play in an NFC championship game.

Despite having left the Chiefs behind, Gonzalez still reminisced of his days with them as that time helped him become who he is, the Chiefs became a part of him and to this day, he would never trade his history with Kansas City for anything at all. Getting a chance to become part of the Ring of Honour is one of his proudest achievements.

First Time Candidates

Champ Bailey learned the ropes of pro football during his second season in 2000, he had the privilege of playing side by side Deion Sanders and Darrell Green, two players who eventually made a place for themselves in the hall of fame. Bailey then claimed then took on Sander’s mantle in the Redskins and also became a member of NFL’s 2000 all-decade team. Bailey’s latest football game took place in Super Bowl XLVII after he played the 2013 season with the Broncos, his career long team.

Tony Gonzalez is a player with the most receiving yards and receptions on his position, in fact, his reception count total is only beaten by Jerry Rice’s count (1,549) which is 224 receptions more than Gonzalez. He is also a 5 time 1st team all pro and has been selected for Pro Bowl 14 times. Gonzalez’s track record is dotted with big numbers and noteworthy achievements.

Ed Reed is probably the deadliest interception return player out there, he holds the bragging rights for both of the longest pick sixes (106 and 107 yards) in the league’s history. Reed has scored a total of thirteen touchdowns and his total interception return length is about 1,590 yards. Reed had his final game with the Ravens in the 2012 season after achieving victory in the Super Bowl XLVII.

The three players mentioned above have an equal chance of getting a place in the coming year’s hall of fame, however, they are not going to be lounging in that hall all by themselves. There are a number of players who have an opportunity to visit the hall of fame for another year.

Returning Players

Isaac Bruce will be the third member of the Saint Louis Rams’ offensive of he manages to get a place in the hall of fame in 2019. He has been selected for Pro Bowl 4 times and has the number 5 positon on the all time career receiving yard list of NFL.

Tony Boselli was the first player to have been picked through a draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. A 3 time all pro select and a 5 time pro bowler, he had a superb, yet short run due to the injuries that he sustained after having gone through 7 seasons.

Edgerrin James has the 13th position for all time career rushing yards and managed to lead the league’s rush in 1999 and then again in 2000. His total rushing yards even beat famous hall of fame players such as Franco Harris, Marcus Allen, and also Thurman Thomas.

John Lynch first came under the spotlight when he managed to scrape a victory along with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. The team’s sudden switch from being a joke to becoming Super Bowl Champions made Lynch shine, who is a 9 time Pro Bowler and has had the honour of becoming a hall of fame finalist 5 times now. He has also played on the secondary in a defence line up that consisted of Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp.